New School Magic

Chapter 1

"Magic and physics have much that go hand in hand. If you think you have a firm grasp of either, you've probably got it wrong." Marie Curtis, 1928

In Central Lundrun a meeting was taking place on the 16th floor of "The Spine", one of the tallest buildings in the city. The subject matter was highly confidential but that was nothing new, the room had long been host to secrets of the company.

It had taken him a while but over the years Harvey had gotten used to working with classified information. The professors and students of his University days had been replaced by managers and executives. There were far more meetings but for Harvey they were a necessary nuisance that meant he was left to his own devices until the next one.

"We really are making great strides in the field. The laws of magic as we know them have been changed forever..."

"Yes, we know." A pale women snipped. Her name was Amelia Addison and her hair was in a tight ginger bun. She tapped the end of her pen against the open folder in front of her. "You say this every time. How are you getting along with categorising and testing?"

Harvey's mouth closed, putting an end to his previous announcement. He clapped his hands together and smiled to the group sat around the table. Some eyes were on him, others were on their papers but everyone was paying attention.

"We're making some excellent progress with our scientific methods. My theory about genetic background proved not to hold any weight, but there is definitely a difference between subjects." This was met with silent nods, a sign that he was being listened to.

So excited was he by his recent work that he never stopped to wonder why not one of them was on their phone, or staring out of the window. These meetings were usually host to at least one person who couldn't pay attention. But this particular meeting was different and Harvey hadn't even noticed.

"The biggest obstacle, still, is finding subjects. Tymor Magickas are extremely rare which means finding a large pool of specimens is impossible at this point."

Further nodding. More writing of notes.

"How is your second in command getting on, your lab assistant?" asked the white haired man to his right, Reginald Godfrey.

"He's performed extremely well." Questions about his fellow employees weren't unusual so Harvey didn't even question it.

"And if you were to be called away for any reason, do you think he could take over?" Godfrey pulled the reading glasses away from his face.

"Absolutely, he's already doing a lot of the tests on my behalf."

This time the group consulted amongst themselves as Harvey stood awkwardly. They talked over one another and he could only catch snippets of sentences. He placed his hands against the table and leaned forwards.

"I'm sorry, I feel like I'm missing something here." People at the far end of the table were already packing their folders into bags and briefcases.

"We want to make a horizontal transfer with you. You'll still maintain some of your old duties but we'd like to make use of you elsewhere." Godfrey remained seated and offered him an uninterrupted stare.

"But this is what I do, what possible other use could you have for me?" Harvey was scientist, an academic. His business was in learning and discovery.

"Come on Harvey, you can't be this naive," said Miss Addison. "You're a Tymor for God's sake, it's a total waste having your abilities locked away in a lab. We want you and the other Tymor subjects to start training tomorrow."

"What sort of training?" asked Harvey, panic rising.

"We want to see what you can do," Godfrey had stood up and clapped him on the shoulder. "Test your limits so to speak. The other two are quite enthusiastic about it."

"Is it combat training?" Harvey spoke through gritted teeth.

Addison put a hand on her hip and frowned. "It's designed to stretch..."

"Is it combat training?" He practically shouted this time. It went ignored by most of the management as people trickled out of the board room. Angry employees were nothing unusual.

"Part of it is a simple extension of what you already do but we want to see how those abilities can be applied in real-world situations."

Harvey folded his arms and glared at her. "So that's a yes." They stared each other down until Harvey announced, "I'm not doing it. I'll quit if that's what you've got planned."

"Come on Harvey, is all this fuss really necessary?" Godfrey shook his head as he collected the briefcase from beneath the table.

"What about Jen? Do I just tell her to go home? She's not got any abilities yet so she's no use to you outside of my lab."

"Jen will remain on the premises until we determine he category. And then we can tranfer her with the rest of you."

"You can't do that. You can't just keep her here."

Godfrey and Addison shared a look. They had said, all that could be said. One walked down one edge of the table while the other walked the opposite edge. Each step they took furthered Harvey's desperation. They couldn't do this, he wouldn't let them. They were almost at the set of open doors when Harvey's desperation displayed itself.

The glass table and all 12 of the chairs lifted into the air. Godfrey raised his eyebrows while Addison's lips set into a grim expression. Harvey's hands were held above his head, a gesture used to guide the motions of the objects infront of him.

"Let Jen go home. Combat training isn't for her and it's not for me either, you can't do this!"

"You'll regret this Harvey." Addison's words were so quiet he could barely hear them.

AN: This story is part of Emma's Camp Nanorwrimo challenge. #EmzorzNano